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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spring — the season
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. band — a music group
  15. lean — thin
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. last — final
  18. scale — size or range
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com